James M. Duffy

James M. Duffy, of Brooklyn Park, MN, formerly of Sioux City, IA, passed away peacefully surrounded by family members on Wednesday, November 5th, 2014. Services will be held Monday, November 17th 2014 at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Sioux City, Iowa. Visitation with the family will precede the service at the church beginning at 9 a.m. The Rev. Lawrence Burns will celebrate the Mass at 10:30 with reception to immediately follow. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery. Condolences may be offered to the family online through Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel at www.meyerbroschapels.com. Jim was born September 30, 1927 in Sioux City to James and Margaret (Clarke) Duffy. He graduated from Ida Grove High School in 1944. Jim attended one year at Trinity College in Sioux City before joining the U.S. Navy. Upon completion of his service, Jim attended Iowa State University graduating in 1950 with a B.S. in Architectural Engineering. Jim began his Architectural career with the Griffith Company in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Jim and Patricia (Patty) La Velle (of Fort Dodge) were married November 23rd, 1950 in Fort Dodge. They moved to Sioux City in 1953 where, for the next 10 years, Jim worked for the William Buettler Architectural Firm. In 1963, Jim established his own firm, James M. Duffy, Architect, offering Architectural design and Structural Engineering services. Over the course of 30 years, the firm grew to include three partners and many employees. For ten years after his retirement, Jim remained involved in the construction field as an independent Engineering consultant with his firm as well as outside clients. Some local Architectural projects commissioned to the Duffy firm included seven building projects at Briar Cliff College, the 1969 addition to St. Vincent's Hospital, First Federal building (now the Aalfs Public Library), the development and design of the majority of skyways in downtown Sioux City. Some local projects related to his Catholic faith included the churches of St. Michael's and Nativity as well as the Sioux City Diocese Chancery building. Jim was active in local civic affairs and held many volunteer officer positions. Some of these include serving on the Chamber of Commerce committees, Board of Adjustments, Property Tax Evaluation, and past President of the Sioux City Construction League. He also served on the Art Center Board, Briar Cliff Advisory Board, St. Vincent Hospital Board, and John Harris Fellowship. Jim was a former Rotary Club President and a 4th degree Knights of Columbus. Jim, Patty and their six children were members of Blessed Sacrament Parish for over 40 years. Jim's passion for design and his strong Catholic faith came to fruition during his retirement years when, in 1993, he became a founding board member of the newly formed Queen of Peace. Jim was able to use his design experience to help establish the Trinity Heights Queen of Peace Shrine on the old Trinity High School grounds. Jim is survived by his wife of nearly 64 years Patty, 6 children, John (Marcia) of Maple Grove, MN., Peggy Lorenzen (Kim) of Saratoga, WY., Mike (Brenda) of Gig Harbor, WA., Marianne Petron (Tom) of Minnetonka, MN., Patrick of St. Francis, MN., and Dan (Eileen) of Minnetonka, MN.; 11 Grandchildren; Chad, Matt, Brandon, Richard, Kevin, Ryan, Matt, Molly, Michael, Briana and Kaitlyn and 4 great grandchildren; His sister Mary Lou Clark (Leon) of Topeka, KS, Brother Leo (Marilynn) of West Des Moines, IA, and Sister in Law Carole of Port Hueneme, CA. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Jack of Port Hueneme, CA. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Blessed Sacrament Parish, Trinity Heights Queen of Peace and The Carmelite Monastery.